Thursday, January 24, 2008

My contributions to the bacterial apocalypse

Exactly two weeks ago, I came down with a cold. Sore throat, headache, cough. So that I wouldn't keep Mike awake, I slept on the couch. I took Friday off sick from work. Better Saturday, but worse Sunday. I tried to go into work on Monday, but went home after half a day. Feeling worse, I took Tuesday off too.

Wednesday I went to UrgentCare for them to confirm that it really was just a cold. Doctor said it probably was, but if I wasn't getting better in a few days, get a Z-Pak prescription filled. Also, here's some cough syrup with codeine. Increasingly miserable, I slept in the bed and Mike gallantly took the couch.

Thursday morning my eyelid was matted shut with pus from conjunctivitis. I took another day off.

Friday morning, I had an appointment to get blood drawn at my doctor's office. As soon as that was done, I passed out. (Well...almost. It was touch and go). After the dizziness and nausea passed, I elected to take yet another day off work. I stopped at the pharmacy on the way home, and started taking the antibiotics. That night, I finally began feeling better.

Did I need the antibiotics? Probably not. The whole thing was probably viral, and I've just helped create more drug-resistant bacteria.

The coda to this tale of antibiotic abuse: this week, I took Dodger to the vet because he has recurring upper respiratory infections. His doctor has put him on antibiotics too, probably long term.

A few things I learned over the course of this:

Even though DayQuil, TheraFlu, and such medicines no longer have pseudoephedrine in theme, you can easily replicate the effects by taking the old active ingredients directly: Sudafed, Tylenol, Robitussin DM. At night, add some Benadryl.

Robitussin started to make me sick, so I switched to vodka, which worked better.

It's enormously comforting to pop in a DVD of a television series and just select "Play All." In this way, I've watch two seasons of Arrested Development and reacquainted myself with Firefly and Wonderfalls.

Thanks for understanding about the whole antibiotic resistance thing. I wish everyone was so understanding. I hate having to explain why I don't believe in prescribing them for certain conditions like your dog's upper resp condition without clear evidence of pneumonia.

I was wondering if we'd met years ago. I was a vet student and a regular at Wolfe Fiber Arts. Did you make a gorgeous bright blue Lopi sweater?